Thursday, October 9, 2014

Trick or Treat

Good evening, everyone! This is no doubt going to be a long post, heavy with photos, so get yourself a cup of whatever and get comfortable! It's time for Challenge 12 over at Linda Ledbetter's Compendium of Curiosities 3!! TheCuriosity Crew has worked their magic on Tim's Distress Photo Tinting technique found on page 41 of Tim Holltz' book A Compendium of Curiosities Vol. 3. Please stop over to visit with Linda and the team to see all the wonderful inspiration there--you won't be disappointed!!! You can learn how to do this and many other great techniques if you purchase Tim's autographed copy of the book here.They will be selecting a Curiosity Crew's Choice winner, who will receive an array of Tim's wonderful products generously supplied by Tim and Mario! The Funkie Junkie Boutique is back to sponsor Challenge 12, and lovely owner Linda Coughlin has a fabulous $25 shopping spree to one very lucky CC3Cer! You've still got some time to enter, so get your project done and link up!My supply of available photos to use for this technique are very limited, and I only had one of myself with one of my sister. It's not very good photographic quality, but I tried to make the most of it. We look a little small for the house, but we were little then, and I couldn't enlarge the photo any further without really distorting it. I think my parents needed a lesson in portrait photography! I can't tell you how the Photo Tinting technique is done out of respect for Tim (you'll have to get the book and try it yourself!), but I can say it works like magic! I was able to eliminate a lot of background clutter in my photo, and give our hair a color treatment for a lot less than you would spend in the salon! I used Aged Mahogany, Antique Linen, Wild Honey, and Mustard Seed and followed Tim's directions exactly as they appear on page 41. I hope you will forgive my horrible photo--it's ALL I had to work with! Tried to make lemonade from lemons!

We never went trick or treating as children, as Halloween was not celebrated in our home. I always thought it would have been fun, so I'm taking my sister with me to visit a spooky home. We put on our witches hats --hers is nicer and she got to carry the jac-o-lantern--and took off. I hope we get some treats, but I think we're going to get tricked, instead! This place is pretty creepy!!!Craft Hoarders Anonymous wants us to get our fall themed hoard to work on a fall related project to link up to their challenge, Challenge #17 "Happy Fall, Y'all". I certainly was able to find a few things (Ha! Ha!) in my hoard to make my creepy little house. It all started with a old worn bat house I've had out in my Creepy Closet (holds things that are not allowed in Sara's Closet). I've been holding onto this for years, knowing it would make a great Halloween piece someday. Today is it's lucky day! The peeling paint and worm eaten wood is perfect! Then a trip to the attic for the tub of Halloween minis, a poke through my stash, and a few items from my put- it- away- later box in my Closet and I've got it!!! See those bats? My kids and I decorated a dozen or so when they were little (16 now), and every year we hang those in our tree by our front door. This year, we're letting a few inside, to watch over my haunted house!

Our hats seem to glow and we look like apparitions in this photo! This house is really haunted!

I've used quite a few of Tim's techniques from his CC3 book, and tried to achieve the grunginess he is so well loved for. I've also used many of his products to get that look, so I'm excited to enter this into the Heavy Metal challenge at A Vintage Journey! Be sure to stop by there for some great metal projects! They also are awarding the winner a generous gift voucher from their sponsor Country View Crafts, so enter your heavy metal artwork! Metal abounds on my project including this wonderful brass upholstery button strip I cut from a roll of 50 yards I've hoarded for a LONG time. I think it looks fabulous along the bottom. I've grunged it up a bit using Distress paint, alcohol ink and Distress Powders. A brass button in the same manner for the door knob and a brass doorknocker made from an old belt buckle I've stashed away. No distressing needed! A metal crow perches above the door on an altered skull. Old painted and rusted chicken wire for the window frames, lots of rusty staples (already in the bat box; can't take credit), wire to hold my three charming bats, as well as a wire to hold my fibers on my homemade witches broom (made from a very old whisk broom I've hoarded in the garage and a stick I found in the waste can, some of Tim's Idea-ology, and an altered pumpkin brad that my sister is holding. AND my favorite--the vine growing up the trellis! I've been stashing this easily for a half of decade knowing I would use it on something! (I still have about 49.5 yards left!) I altered this with alcohol inks, Distress and embossing powders. It looks yummy in person!

. Altered metal upholstery buttons go around the base.

Brass belt buckle disguised as a door knocker.

Metal vines

I was really inspired by our industrious friend right outside our garage door, where I was working on this gorgeous day. I hope you can see the beauty in his web!

I really don't care too much for spiders, but they are everywhere in our garden this time of year, so I included an abundance on my project, on the house and in the garden, even peeking out between the purple leaves right next to me! EEK! (made from paper toweling used in my spray box, dried and shaped, and one single leaf from a late planting of corn).

Their webs are all over my house, too--there's one in the window (oh! there's a witch in there, too!) , and one under the eves, and if you look closely at most of the photos you'll see they are spinning their web around my project (fine white lines, made with hot glue)! Don't be too afraid of the spiders--they're plastic touched up with embossing powder and a little Distress paint. Creepy how they move when you blast them with the heat gun! (Think Shrinky Dink)

I stamped the web on acetate package waste in Staz On ink and popped it up to give dimension.

In the garden you will see some fungus...they started life as those cute plastic mushrooms of the late '70's/early '80's. With a little magic (Silks paint, Distress paint and inks, Elmer's glue, and Tattered Angels spray) they became poisonous mushrooms.

The moss is from another project (recycled) and sprayed with some of that Tattered Angels. I also have a window box around the side of the house filled with dying trailing vines (die cut from Tim's Spring Foliage and altered with Distress inks and embossing powder, curled to look a little more realistic).

Lurking in the garden is a huge rat crawling out from the cellar. ( I've rescued him from my Halloween stash, and dirtied him up with some Black Soot.

And someone has tossed out their old bottle of poison! (Perfume bottle from my stash, crackled to perfection, inked and embellished with an Idea-ology skull/crossbones, gussied up with alcohol ink, Stickles and a few other things I can't mention because they are in Tim's book, and out of respect to Tim, we don't want to give his techniques away.)

You can also see an old pumpkin at my feet--he started out white, as was rescued a long time ago from my kid's throwaways! I gave him a whole new look for this Haunted House with Distress inks, alcohol inks, and Stickles.

The picket fence and window box is made from some old wood from my husband's stash in the garage.Around back you can see a skeleton hand peeking out from the cellar. (More Halloween stash) And along the side of the house is an old rusty wagon wheel and a broom stick. I made the broom as mentioned before, and the wheel is off a plastic toy, also rescued from the trash, rusted up with alcohol ink, and a variation of the Effect Powders Technique in Tim's CC3. Our Creative Corner has a fun challenge this month called Go Rustic; be sure to stop in and see all the wonderful creative ways the design team uses rust on some sensational projects. If you enter you have a chance to win a generous gift certificate from The Funkie Junkie!

The web and witch (second generation impression to appear ghostly) stamped on vellum.

My rusty junk includes the wheel, the rusted upholstery buttons, and my rust colored spiders. There are also rusted nails and staples, but that's the real deal!My skull (stash) above the door got some crackle treatment and a metal crow embellishment (stash) perches on him. In this photo you can see some of the green ooze coming out from under the eaves. Yuck!

I hung the banner at the eaves choosing this sentiment for obvious reasons but also because I look like I'm screaming! I stamped this on vellum cut with Tim's Tattered Banners die using Archival ink and a Hobby Lobby stamp.

And if you go around the side of the house you'll see a skeleton trying to get in. His friend peeps out of the window below (Recollections stamp, Archival ink on vellum). More ooze drips down; perhaps that was a man trying to get in and the ooze killed him and left just his skeleton! Oh, I don't want to ring that doorbell! You do it, Amy! I'm never going trick or treating again!

The door to the "attic" opens--I wonder what's in there?

And closes...

I hope you enjoyed my creepy little adventure with my sister and me. I have had so much fun making this. Many thanks each one of these challenges, that I would like to join, for providing this opportunity to get my junk out and USE it!

Inspiration Journal In Disguise (belt buckle disguised as a door knocker, bat house disguised as a haunted house, Toy part disguised as an old rusty wagon wheel, Whisk broom fibers and yard waste transformed into a witches broom and upholstery buttons disguised as trim)

I'm trying to figure out how to reply to comments using this pop-up comment form. I apologize that I don't seem to be able to comment on each individual comment I've received. Thank you Sammy! I appreciate your comment!

Thank you, Sandra! I really appreciate you stopping in and leaving your lovely comment. I'm afraid I am going to have to change my comment style back to embedded, so I can respond more effectively. This was such a wonderful, fun challenge for me! Thanks so much!

What a time consuming and wonderful project! You can tell you had so much fun making it. I love the photo with the alterations, and I am sure you are making up for all the lost candy...lol! LOVE all the details...so many! Thanks so much for joining us on the Distress Photo Tinting Challenge at CC3Challenge!!!

HOW COOL!!! Love your creepy cottage, it is just so perfect with all the attention to detail... great take on the challenge... Thanks for playing along with the CC3 Challenge and hope to see you again soon x

I can definitely see all the time you spent making sure all the little details are just perfect! Love your creation and it must be a one of a kind project! Thanks for joining us at Craft Hoarders Anonymous!

What a wonderful project and it must've taken you ages but definitely worth every single second! Thank you so much for sharing your project and for joining us over on the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog! :)

Well Sara, I just came from your haunted birdhouse post, and now I feel as if I don't have enough words to describe this! I think this time, I will just bow down to the master and say 'all hail the queen of craft'! You are an artist and this is truly a work of art! You inspire me more than you will ever know, big hugs :)

You are seriously on a roll Sara!!! I love this to bits! No expense has been spared in terms of texture and detail and each picture revealed little elements that made me smile even more. Thank you so much for joining us at A Vintage Journey and Frilly and Funkie. Jenny x

Hi Sara, I am so glad to have stumbled upon your blog. This is an amazing project and you have such a wonderful imagination. Every bit of your Spooky House is pure magic and I loved reading everything you wrote about it. Thank you for the fantastic inspiration. I am now following your blog through Bloglovin and you can be sue I will come visit again and look forward to seeing more of your amazing work in the future.:) Chris / CS Designs

Thank you, Chris! I'm happy you stumbled across my blog, too! And you have just made my day with all your delightful comments! I didn't even know you could "follow" me--I'm a techno-dinosaur! Happy to have you! I would love to enter your challenge-Recycle, Re-Purpose & Re-Invent--that's what my passion is! But I will have to take a raincheck, as I think I've reached my limit with some of the challenges I've already entered!

Oh my goodness, Sara! This is such an incredible project. The detail just blows me away...from the ghostly apparitions to the mushrooms and spiderwebs and dusty old bottles, you really have created a spooktacular project! It's always a TREAT to visit your delightful blog! Thanks for sharing this with us at Craft Hoarders Anonymous!

Thank you, Anne! I'm so happy to get this great comment from you! Yes, this piece really needs to be displayed on a turn table to see it from all sides, so there were a lot of photos! I hope no one threw up their hands in frustration with all my detailed photos:)!

Oh, my, Gloria, there you go swelling up my head to spooky proportions! I'm so happy you like it, and that I get to share my little creations with so many people via your wonderful, inspiring challenge blog! This has been such fun!

So, just a little something you threw together then lol. This must have taken you weeks to make - all the little bits and bobs and attention to detail. it's just perfect. Make sure that you wrap it up carefully and bring it out again every October. Thank you so much for joining in with our Sparkle and Shine challenge at Country View Crafts. Sue xx

Sue, you are so funny! Yes, I will wrap it carefully. I kind of like it, so will want to see it year after year. No it did not take me weeks. It has got to be one of my quickest projects I've done in a long time. The Halloween stuff just seems to fall into place. I did it in one day off along with my regular chores and carpools. I did have to wait for the crackle paint to dry, and the hardest part was learning how to print out the photo on our new printer! When I am on a roll with a project like this I do tend to be late with everything else like making dinner!

Oooooh I just adore those little mushrooms... :) I love this spooky house, you seem to capture Halloween perfectly - especially with house decor I just saw - lol. Thank you so much for your lovely comment on my blog for my book cover piece and taking the time to visit xxx